During the concluding press conference for this year’s Hajj, which was held in Mina on Thursday, Prince Khaled also thanked the media who covered the season, as well as those who contributed to serving the pilgrims.

He said that the number of workers providing services to the pilgrims exceeded 250,000 people.

He said that the health sector deployed 32,000 health practitioners. As many as 25 hospitals and 135 health centers with a capacity of 5,000 beds were available in Makkah and the holy sites to serve pilgrims.

He also said that the electric load capacity reached 17,791MW, while 40,000,000 cubic meters of water were pumped in Makkah and the holy sites. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs provided its services through 32,000 engineers, supervisors and cleaners.

With regard to women’s rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khaled said Islam always urged Muslims to appreciate women and that their rights guaranteed by Islam should be given to them.

He also affirmed that moderation is an Islamic vision emerging from Islam and its teachings and that the leader of moderation in the Kingdom was King Salman.

Regarding some media reports claiming that Saudi Arabia banned Qatari nationals from performing Hajj rituals, Prince Khaled said that Saudi Arabia had announced its willingness to receive pilgrims from any country.

Qatar was called upon to allow its citizens to perform Hajj rituals. The king said that planes could be sent to transport Qatari pilgrims but Qatar prevented its citizens from performing Hajj rituals. However, those who managed to arrive in the Kingdom were welcomed and were now performing Hajj rituals.

He said that the number of Iranian pilgrims in this year’s Hajj season reached 86,000.

Saudi heritage chief launches Korean exhibition in Riyadh

Updated 19 December 2018

Arab News

December 19, 2018 03:04

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RIYADH: Prince Sultan bin Salman, the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, officially opened an exhibition in Riyadh showcasing Korean history and culture. He was joined at the event by Professor Bae Kidong, the director general of the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, and Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jo Byung-Wook.
Titled “Korean History and Culture: an Enchanting Journey to the Korean Civilization,” the exhibition — which will be at the National Museum until March 7, 2019 and is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia — features rare artifacts that showcase Korean archaeology, civilization and folklore, as well as a selection of exhibits from the Korean National Museum.
Prince Sultan said that such cooperation in the field of culture and archaeology is very important, especially since Korea has a great and ancient culture, and given its important relationship with Saudi Arabia through the years.
On behalf of the Korean government and people, Prof. Bae expressed his sincere appreciation to the Kingdom for hosting the exhibition.